slowGEEZR
Well-known member
This was my fifth time to make the trek to Denver for the RMAF. I heard some really great sounding rooms this year and was pleased to discover much gear I had never seen before. There were so many different software and hardware products for streaming and just enabling digital files to be stored, processed, organized that I couldn't keep up with all of them. Let's just say that the manner in which digital files can be used in a great system is growing by leaps and bounds. There is just too much going on in that arena for me to comment on, so basically, I'm just going to prattle on about systems, mainly speakers, that I thought were special.
I'm going to start with my selection for best sound of show, the Aaudio Imports room in the Larkspur Suite. The source was the Thales TTT Compact turntable ($13.2K), Simplicity II zero tracking error tone-arm ($9.2K) and the absolutely incredible and my new favorite, Ikeda KAI MC ($8.5K) cartridge. (Another cartridge that sounded amazingly good was the Transfiguration Axia MC cartridge.)
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue72/transfiguration_axia.htm
Back to the Larkspur Suite...Ypsilon supplied the amps, phono stage and step up transformer. The speakers were the Lansche No. 5.1 speakers, which use the corona plasma tweeter. No digital source was in the room. Many people say that piano is the best test of audio reproduction, but to me, the ability to portray the human voice is my litmus test and this system did it better than any other I heard. As audiophiles, we often talk of the ability of a system to suspend our belief that we are not listening to the real event. With this system, I caught myself thinking how the singer was in the room, not a sound wave coming from a speaker, so real was the sound. This voice reproduction exceeded any voice reproduction by any system I have ever heard. Unbelievable. Effortless, real, with the ability of the system to utterly disappear and only leave the performance. Were there other great systems? Of course, the Focal Utopia series were incredible, as were the Wilson Sasha II's with the dual Watchdog subwoofers, the incredible Vaughn Plasma speakers with their adjustable powered bass (which sounded MUCH better than their $18K price, and would be my new speaker of choice at that price!), the NOLA Metro Grands, etc. But the surreal reproduction of the human voice by the Lansche's was what stood them apart.
http://www.lansche-audio.de/eng/details-2-5.html
My next favorite listening experience was with the Vandersteen liquid cooled M7-HPA amplifier and updated Model Seven speaker sytem. Richard gave us a fascinating overview of the design and construction of both the amps and the speakers. He then played a lacquer, which is just about as close a source media as you can get to the master tape. I have never heard classical instruments, especially violin, sound as real from an audio system. The amplifier is specifically designed to be the perfect amplification for the Model Seven. There are just two drawbacks to this system. One is cost, as the amps and speakers together cost over $100K and the other is that they can't play as loudly as other top line speakers, although they played as loud as I would play them.
http://vandersteen.com//news/vandersteens-liquid-cooled-m7-hpa-and-model-seven-update-at-rmaf-2014
Next is my pick for best bang for the buck speakers, the Spatial M1 Turbo's ($4K). To my ears, these speakers sounded better than many speakers at two to four times their price. Tonal qualities and soundstage especially, were spectacular. Clayton Shaw, who designed Emerald Physics speakers, I believe, designed these drivers expressly for the open-baffle design. Don't be fooled by their short stature, these speakers provided a huge, enveloping soundstage, with bass, mids and highs to die for. Very musical, very nice!
http://www.spatialaudio.us/store/hologram-m1
Another great sounding room that sounded well above its price point was the BMC Audio room. The entire system cost was around $17K and sounded really, really good. The speakers, the PureVOX 2-way Bipolar speakers, at $6490 were superb and would be a great speaker choice.
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2014/01/bmc-audio-pure-vox-loudspeakers.html
It's not that often that a new to me line of electronic gear really makes me stop in my tracks, but Pure Audio from New Zealand did. The gear looks and sounds amazing.
http://www.pureaudio.co.nz/
Ok, I may have something more to say tomorrow. There was a turntable from a Chinese company that looked like it should cost about $10K to $12K, but sells for around $3K or $3.5K. I need to go through my notes and literature to pick out more info. It's been especially busy for me these last couple of days and I need to take a break. Hey, sue me, I'm retired!
I'm going to start with my selection for best sound of show, the Aaudio Imports room in the Larkspur Suite. The source was the Thales TTT Compact turntable ($13.2K), Simplicity II zero tracking error tone-arm ($9.2K) and the absolutely incredible and my new favorite, Ikeda KAI MC ($8.5K) cartridge. (Another cartridge that sounded amazingly good was the Transfiguration Axia MC cartridge.)
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue72/transfiguration_axia.htm
Back to the Larkspur Suite...Ypsilon supplied the amps, phono stage and step up transformer. The speakers were the Lansche No. 5.1 speakers, which use the corona plasma tweeter. No digital source was in the room. Many people say that piano is the best test of audio reproduction, but to me, the ability to portray the human voice is my litmus test and this system did it better than any other I heard. As audiophiles, we often talk of the ability of a system to suspend our belief that we are not listening to the real event. With this system, I caught myself thinking how the singer was in the room, not a sound wave coming from a speaker, so real was the sound. This voice reproduction exceeded any voice reproduction by any system I have ever heard. Unbelievable. Effortless, real, with the ability of the system to utterly disappear and only leave the performance. Were there other great systems? Of course, the Focal Utopia series were incredible, as were the Wilson Sasha II's with the dual Watchdog subwoofers, the incredible Vaughn Plasma speakers with their adjustable powered bass (which sounded MUCH better than their $18K price, and would be my new speaker of choice at that price!), the NOLA Metro Grands, etc. But the surreal reproduction of the human voice by the Lansche's was what stood them apart.
http://www.lansche-audio.de/eng/details-2-5.html
My next favorite listening experience was with the Vandersteen liquid cooled M7-HPA amplifier and updated Model Seven speaker sytem. Richard gave us a fascinating overview of the design and construction of both the amps and the speakers. He then played a lacquer, which is just about as close a source media as you can get to the master tape. I have never heard classical instruments, especially violin, sound as real from an audio system. The amplifier is specifically designed to be the perfect amplification for the Model Seven. There are just two drawbacks to this system. One is cost, as the amps and speakers together cost over $100K and the other is that they can't play as loudly as other top line speakers, although they played as loud as I would play them.
http://vandersteen.com//news/vandersteens-liquid-cooled-m7-hpa-and-model-seven-update-at-rmaf-2014
Next is my pick for best bang for the buck speakers, the Spatial M1 Turbo's ($4K). To my ears, these speakers sounded better than many speakers at two to four times their price. Tonal qualities and soundstage especially, were spectacular. Clayton Shaw, who designed Emerald Physics speakers, I believe, designed these drivers expressly for the open-baffle design. Don't be fooled by their short stature, these speakers provided a huge, enveloping soundstage, with bass, mids and highs to die for. Very musical, very nice!
http://www.spatialaudio.us/store/hologram-m1
Another great sounding room that sounded well above its price point was the BMC Audio room. The entire system cost was around $17K and sounded really, really good. The speakers, the PureVOX 2-way Bipolar speakers, at $6490 were superb and would be a great speaker choice.
http://www.monoandstereo.com/2014/01/bmc-audio-pure-vox-loudspeakers.html
It's not that often that a new to me line of electronic gear really makes me stop in my tracks, but Pure Audio from New Zealand did. The gear looks and sounds amazing.
http://www.pureaudio.co.nz/
Ok, I may have something more to say tomorrow. There was a turntable from a Chinese company that looked like it should cost about $10K to $12K, but sells for around $3K or $3.5K. I need to go through my notes and literature to pick out more info. It's been especially busy for me these last couple of days and I need to take a break. Hey, sue me, I'm retired!
